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Traditional Medicinals

Our StorySince 1974, we’ve been passionate about connecting people with the power of plants.Traditional Medicinals is an independent company that embraces sustainability, ingredient purity, and social and environmental activism. A Certified B Corporation and California Certified Green Business, we’re the leading seller of wellness tea in the U.S. and the pioneer of the wellness tea category in the U.S. and Canada.

Our roots go back to a third generation herbalist named Rosemary Gladstar, who was raised close to the earth in the farmlands of Northern California. In the late 1960s, while living in the coastal redwood forest, she met community activist and environmentalist Drake Sadler. The young couple was part of a movement of back-to-the-land baby boomers seeking an alternative lifestyle, including natural foods and herbal remedies. Together, they shared a vision for the rebirth of herbalism in North America, and in 1974 they co-founded Traditional Medicinals.

Today, Rosemary is often referred to as the god mother of modern herbalism. She is a well-respected teacher and author who also founded The California School of Herbal Studies and the nonprofit United Plant Savers. Although no longer active in the company, Rosemary’s original herbal formulas (including Throat Coat, Mother’s Milk and Smooth Move) continue to fulfill the promise of quality and integrity.

After decades of leadership, Drake transitioned away from company management and is now focused (with support from Traditional Medicinals Foundation) on working with and empowering the mostly indigenous and impoverished communities around the world that collect and cultivate medicinal plants. These investments in supplier community well-being provide food and water security, access to health care, education and training, economic development, and gender equality.

As Rosemary has a continued commitment to herbal education, Drake remains passionate about environmental stewardship and social equity. Forever kindred spirits, their founding values are infused into the core principles of the company and serve as a model for responsible business.

We’ve got the right stuffWe raise the bar and hold ourselves to a higher standard.

Any hot tea can comfort you, but the right blend will benefit you while it comforts you. We don’t just make formulas because they sound good. We’re passionate about passing along the centuries-old wisdom of how to use plants for wellness. Here’s what make us different and better:

Our high quality herbs: We’re committed to using pharmacopoeial grade herbs – that’s a marker of very high quality that almost no other tea company claims. And we try to source our herbs from their native habitats because herbs that are “at home” tend to have the right balance of active compounds.

Our herbalists’ formulations: We don’t just make products because they sound good. Our trained herbalists are stewards of traditional herbal knowledge, basing our products on herbal combinations that have been helping people for centuries. We’ve pioneered the wellness tea category since 1974 and will continue to lead the way.

Our quality control: Our herbs go through a minimum of nine rounds of rigorous testing before they make it to your tea bag. From our microscopist and lab analysts who test each herb’s identity, strength and purity to the cupping team who ensure the tea tastes right, we’re all a bit obsessive about quality.